Mr. KINGasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if his attention has been called to the disabilities under which citizens of the Indian Empire are now labouring in British Columbia; whether these Hindu citizens are mostly Sikhs and ex-soldiers of our Indian Army; and whether he has approached the Canadian Government on the subject?
Mr. HARCOURTA petition from Hindus of British Columbia, in which it was claimed that many of them had fought loyally for the upholding of the Empire, was brought before the Imperial Conference. The grievances alleged mainly concerned the restriction of immigration, and Sir Wilfrid Laurier in dealing with the petition, while denying that Indians in Canada were not treated as fellow subjects, pointed out that it was impossible to permit indiscriminate immigration.